Rebound
by Xanderlike
Summary: "He's not Wally. He'll never be Wally, but he's a good guy. He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve to be used like this. He doesn't deserve to be used by her. But she can't stop herself. Try as she might, she can't stop." Almost a year after losing Wally, Artemis meets someone new. Can he be anything other than the rebound guy?
1. Chapter 1

She met him on a case. She was working undercover, jogging in the park to catch a super powered mugger who targeted young women. M'Gann, Raquel, Barbara, and Cassie had their own sectors to cover, and Dick was getting frustrated enough with the whole thing he was about ready to go out in disguise as a girl himself.

She had been running in the park all morning, and was hot and sweaty and a nearby ice cream stand was calling her name when she realized that she didn't have any money with her. She hit the water fountain instead, and when she finished her drink he was standing there with two ice cream cones.

"You look like you could use this."

He was kind of cute, she decided. Not too tall, not too short. Her age or a few years older. Black hair. Green eyes. Decent shape. Nice enough smile.

"My mother told me to never take candy from strangers." She's surprised by the flippant tone in her voice. She's had five guys already ask for her phone number this morning, but he's the first one to try the ice cream approach.

"It's ice cream. Doesn't even have sprinkles on it. No candy at all. So it's perfectly okay. And I'm Kyle. Kyle Rayner. So now we're not strangers anymore." He offers both cones. "Pick one. You know you wanna."

It's the smile that did the trick. She'd dressed to lure in a super powered pervert, but his eyes never left her face. She liked that. "What flavors do you have?"

"Chocolate and vanilla swirl. Or vanilla and chocolate swirl. Take your pick."

"What would you have done if I said I was a strawberry ice cream kind of girl?"

"Eaten two ice cream cones all by myself." He grinned at her.

"Well, we wouldn't want that." She took one of the ice cream cones from him. "Artemis."

"What?"

"That's my name." She had seen him two or three times this morning. He had a sketch pad, a blanket, and a book under a comfortable looking shade tree. He had looked at her, of course—but she had expected that. That was the whole point of being bait.

"Hi, Artemis. Nice to meet you."

There was no sign he recognized her name or face. Not really that surprising. She had been semi-retired for several years before Dick had talked her into going into the field to help Kaldur.

They chatted a little bit about the weather and what they do. He's a college student too, working on a graphic artist degree. His family still lives in California.

It was … different.

It had been almost a year since she lost Wally. Since they _all _lost Wally. The others … the others didn't seem to know how to react to her anymore. It had been Artemis and Wally so long that they didn't seem to know how to react to Artemis without the "And Wally."

Her presence seemed to put a damper on their conversation, their actions. Laughter would stop as though it were somehow disrespectful of Wally, of her, for them to find something in life to laugh about. Couples would pull apart if she walked in on them as though it was cruel to subject her to their happiness, their love …

She had come back because she didn't want to be alone with her memories, alone with her grief, but she felt even more isolated with the team than without it.

Now … now she's talking to a stranger, and she's suddenly not _that_ girl any longer. She's not Wally West's almost-widow. She's not being looked at with pity and sympathy.

She's not being defined by tragedy for the first time since she lost Wally.

It had been so long that she had forgotten what that felt like.

_Artemis, it's M'Gann. Nothing here. Anything on your end?_

She sighed and finished her ice cream cone. _Not yet. I just took a break. I'll get back on it. _ "Thanks for the ice cream, but I have to get back to—jogging."

"Okay. Here. I have something for you." He tore off a piece of paper from his sketch pad and handed it to her.

It was a half-finished picture of her. She was impressed. "It's not done."

"No. But if you bring it back with your next Saturday I'll finish it. And if you want to get together before that—maybe for dinner or a movie—that's my phone number at the bottom." He smiled hopefully at her.

In spite of herself, she had smiled back. "You're a sneaky man, Kyle Rayner."

"Hey, a guy's gotta make the effort."

She looked over at him. "Why? Because you think I'm pretty?"

She wanted him to tell her she was pretty. She didn't quite know why, but she wanted him to say it.

"Pretty, hell. I think you're _beautiful_. You're also smart, funny, and I'd like to get to know you better."

She blushed at that. "Thanks. I tend to travel a lot so I can't guarantee I'll be around anytime soon, but I think I'd like to get to know you too."

"All right. That's all a guy can hope for. Nice meeting you, Artemis. Hope to see you again."

She didn't want to go, but she forced herself. Carefully tucking the picture into a pocket, she jogged down the sidewalk. When she glanced back, he was still watching her.

"Men," she laughed and waved at him.

He waved back.

And for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel quite so lonely.


	2. Chapter 2

The good news was that whatever the mugger wanted from the girls he attacked it wasn't sexual. None of them were physically assaulted in any way though they did seem to have "missing time" syndrome … a memory loss so complete that not even M'Gann could overcome it. They would wake up in some public place without their cash and a splitting headache … and no sign of physical trauma.

The lack of permanent injury to the girls had led to the case being relatively low priority for the League. With the Joker loose in Gotham and an alien invasion in Metropolis, the League had little time to spare for mere robbery.

Still, Dick had not been willing to drop the case. His sense of justice didn't allow him to leave a case like this unsolved. And something about it just felt … wrong.

Artemis agreed. It was why she had continued to visit the park when M'Gann and the other girls had been pulled off to help with the other crises. Gotham wasn't her city—not like it was Barbara's—and it wasn't like there was a lot she could do against an invasion of giant insects that Cassie, M'Gann, and Raquel couldn't do better … She could do more good looking for the mugger … at least that's what she told the others when they asked her why she wanted to keep on the case.

The fact that she spent at least as much time looking for a certain green eyed artist as keeping an eye out for the mugger was something that she didn't like to think about.

She carried his picture every day … on the off chance she would catch him in the park on a weekday. She would stop at the ice cream vendor and have a cone and then think about texting the number he had given her.

She wanted to. She didn't want to.

It was a bad idea. It was a tempting thought.

She didn't know him. She wanted to know him.

She didn't belong in his world. She wasn't a normal girl. She wanted to know what it was like to be a normal girl.

He wasn't Wally. He would never be Wally. But … but Wally was gone.

She wasn't.

Even though she ached when she thought of Wally, she was still alive.

And somehow Kyle Rayner had reminded her of that …

She had his number. She could call him and let him know that she wanted to see him again. She could let him know that she wanted to talk to him … but somehow … somehow she couldn't quite find the will to do so.

Somehow … somehow running into him again would feel … _okay._ She wasn't making it happen. She wasn't … _betraying?_... Wally that way.

But to _call _him …

No.

She couldn't do that. She _wouldn't_ do that.

She finished her ice cream cone and sighed. No Kyle.

"You know, I could use one of those myself."

"Kyle?" She spun around and knew that she was smiling … smiling in a way that she hadn't since she had last spoken with him.

"Hi, Artemis." He was there—finally, he was there. He was wearing a pair of black shorts and a green tank top. There were dark circles around his eyes.

"You look tired," she told him.

"You look gorgeous."

"I bet you say that to all the girls who're handing you an ice cream cone."

"Only when it's true. Only when it's true." He closed his eyes as he took a lick. "Man, that tastes good. I've been … out of town the last few days. Working long hours … first chance I've had to relax since the—well, it's been a busy week."

"Yeah. I know what you mean." She ran a hand through her hair. "Been that way for me too."

"I don't suppose you have that picture with you?" He grinned as he finished his cone. "I haven't had a chance to just sit back and draw for fun since I last saw you."

"Yeah. I have it." She was almost unable to tell him she had it. It was an admission she had wanted to see him again … and she's wasn't sure she should confess that yet… She was almost shy as she offered it to him … and she was acutely aware of the warmth of his fingers as they brushed against hers …

It had been so _long _since she had been touched …

He sat down on a bench and gestured for her to sit down against a tree. He laid the piece of paper against his sketch pad and pulled out his pencil. He bit his lip and narrowed his eyes as he began working.

There was a peaceful silence between them as he drew and she watched. It wasn't like the quiet between her and her friends now—this was a silence that _included _her. "You're very good."

"Thank you." He stopped and looked at her and the picture again. "Hm. I think it's done." He grinned at her. "So do I have to find an excuse to draw another picture or can I talk you into going out for dinner with me tonight?"

"Tonight?" She rose to her feet.

"Yeah. If you're not busy, that is. If you are …" He shrugged. "Then I'm going to have to ask you for your number so I can try to catch you at another time. Unless you're totally not interested in which case I won't make a pest out of myself."

She wanted to tell him that she wasn't interested. That it was too soon for her. That it wasn't a good idea … "Dinner sounds fine. Nothing fancy, though."

"Hey—college student here. I was thinking a burger and fries and maybe a movie. That sound good to you?"

"Sure." She was sure her heart was beating so loud that Conner would hear it all the way over in Metropolis. "That sounds fine. Mind if I pick the place?"

She didn't want a place she might run into someone she knew. She didn't want a place she had been to with Wally.

"Sure. That's fine with me." He paused and then blushed slightly. "Um, I don't actually have a car…"

"That's all right. I've got wheels." She didn't tell him yet what her wheels were.

"Good to hear." He rose up and stretched his legs. "So, want to jog with me a ways?"

"Sure." She smirked at him. "Are you going to go easy on me because I'm a girl?"

"God, no." His lips twitched into a smile. "I've seen you run, remember? I'm just hoping that I can keep you in sight."

"You want a head start?"

"What? You think I'm totally without masculine pride? I'm wounded, my dear. Terribly wounded… look! Isn't that Batman?!"

She whipped her head around to look. "Here? Now? Where?!"

She heard a laugh and saw that Kyle was almost out of sight already, running as though his life depended on it.

For a second, she stood stunned, and then, grinning wildly, she took after him.


	3. Chapter 3

She'd thought about calling him to cancel half a dozen times … even right until the moment she got on her bike. (It looked like an ordinary motorcycle, but the tech involved was closer to Star Wars than Harley Davidson. It was a gift from the team to welcome her back even though most of the time she had no reason to use it. Gifts are sometimes easier when there are no words.) She thought about cancelling, but she didn't.

She bought all new clothing for the … _don't call it a date _… movie. A pair of jeans, a jeans jacket, and a cutoff shirt – not too fancy, but something that showed off her figure. She wanted something new… somehow she couldn't see her wearing something that she had worn with _Wally …_

She met him at a bus stop. "Going my way?"

He wore a green Polo Shirt and a pair of black slacks that showed he did more than sit under trees drawing pretty girls all day. "If there is a God, yes."

She laughed. "There's a helmet in the luggage case."

He fumbled with the helmet—enough to let her know that he's never ridden before—and she watched him with a trace of amusement on her face as he finally gets on behind her and puts his arms around her. "Am I holding on too tight?"

"Tighter," she whispered. "I mean, you can hang on tighter than that. I wouldn't want you to fall off when I make a turn."

He gripped her just a little bit tighter. "Should I be worried?"

She laughed in response. _Don't think about how good it feels to have someone touch you again that isn't trying to kill you … Just don't. _"Trust me."

"With my life." There was something about the way he said it—with a complete lack of humor—that took her breath away.

"You like to live dangerously, Kyle." She was warning him, giving him a chance to back out while he could.

"Some things—some people—are worth the risk."

In response, she gunned the engine and they roared off down the street.

They saw the movie first.

It was the latest Avengers movie—_Wally had wanted to see it so badly_—and she had tried to think of a way to explain to Kyle why she'd rather not see it—a way that wouldn't require her to talk about Wally—but something about his excitement made her change her mind. As the two of them sat in the theater, watching the movie, sharing popcorn, she's struck by a sudden thought:

_Kyle and Wally would have made great friends._

Kyle is nothing like Wally in looks or temperament. But something about the way he watched the movie, the way he would absentmindedly eat popcorn right out of her hands— the way he mouths the heroes' catchphrases right when they say them— leaves her thinking of the dozens of times Wally had done the same thing.

_He's not Wally. He'll never be Wally. He's a good guy, but he'll never be Wally. Don't do this to him. Don't hurt him …_

The restaurant is just a burger joint. Not a franchise, but a privately owned place with some of the best hamburgers she's ever tasted. She'd eaten her as a kid—her father would take the family here on rare occasions—when she had done well in her training—after they visited Mom when she was in prison—and it's one of the few good memories she has of her childhood.

She had never taken Wally here. She had meant to, but the time had never been right … and now she never would …

"Artemis? Are you okay?"

She wasn't okay. She didn't think she would ever be okay again. This was a mistake. She shouldn't have done this … "I'm fine …"

"You don't look it." He reached out and took one of her hands in his. She noticed again the strange ring he wore—a large emerald set in a strange green metal band that looked familiar somehow. "Should we call it a night?"

"I'm sorry. I think that's probably a good idea…" It wasn't fair to him, but she can't stay here. She can't be here with someone who isn't Wally…

"Okay. Let's go then." There was no anger in his response, no accusation. He just seemed worried about her welfare.

They get back on her bike and she started to drive him back to the bus stop …

_I owe him better than this. I owe him answers._

"Hang on, Kyle. I want to take you somewhere to talk."

There's a mountain highway with a turnoff. It has a perfect view of what used to be Mount Justice. She pulled off the road and took off her helmet.

"Kyle, I need to explain…"

"You don't owe me any explanations, Artemis."

"No. I do." She reached out and touched his cheek.

_Warm. Alive … Not a memory. __**Real.**_

"Kyle, there's nothing wrong with you. You didn't do anything wrong. I … there was a…" _Coward. Say it. You owe it to both of them …_

"It's okay, Artemis. It's okay …"

_He's not Wally. But he's here. He's here, and Wally isn't. Wally never will be …_

She wanted to talk, but the words wouldn't come. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn't. She couldn't become _that girl_ again … not to Kyle.

"Kyle …"

_He's here …_

And she pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him until the pain went away …


End file.
